My Encounters…

X Box 360…

I was one of the lucky (or unlucky) few to have a 360 on day one. I had camped out for five hours at a local retail store to score one, along with Perfect Dark Zero, Madden 06, Call of Duty 2, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted. As soon as I hooked everything up, I was introduced into gaming heaven. All the games I had purchased blew me away showing me graphics not possible on my once beloved X Box, and kept me hooked for months on end. My 360 continues to get most of my playing time, and with games like Gears of War, The Darkness, and Forza 2 I have a very long and enjoyable summer ahead

PS3…

My first taste of the Sony’s new system came from playing Resistance: Fall of Man at a friends house (I also reviewed that game for this site.) Based on weapons and the sheer amount of chaos alone, I was hooked and couldn’t wait to see what else Sony had in store for us. In the months to come, I realized not a whole lot, as various developers continued to release titles that were available on the 360, making the PS3 library appear very dull. The only other games that sparked my interest were Motor Storm and Virtua Fighter 5. Since having the PS3 in my grasp, I invested heavily (time wise) in Resistance, not only for the purpose of the review, but I genuinely enjoy Insomniac’s game. After finishing the game however, I have yet to turn the PS3 on in nearly three weeks, largely due to the lack of must play games.

Wii…

For its simple design, and ease of use I love my Wii. I never thought that Wii Sports could put me through such a workout. Out of all my systems (aside from the Genesis) this is the only other console my girlfriend will play games with me, and if she plays video games you know it has to be special. One memorable story that comes to mind came when I took the Wii to my job one day. While at work I was playing Wii sports (bowling to be specific) and my supervisor saw me and asked what I was doing. Once he realized the game I was playing was bowling, he IMMEDIATELY wanted to play. Keep in mind that 1. He is old enough to be my pops, and 2. The last game he probably played was pong (seriously.) Because of the Wii’s ease of use, he beat me the first game and thankfully I redeemed my gamer credentials and won the following matches. Since then all my co-workers engaged in heated bowling matches (all of them created Mii’s to boot) and seeing them all playing is the most bizarre thing you can imagine.

What Impresses…

X Box 360…

X Box 360 has the best console online service period. Millions of subscribers reaffirm this statement, and new subscribers are signing up every day. MS took their time developing X Box Live, and it shows time and time again. Video chat, text and picture messaging are just a few of the rich features at your disposal and those features come free with the silver subscription. The 360 has a handful of excellent games to choose from, with a little bit of everything to wet every gamers pallet. Viva Pinata (developed by Rare) is a very good example of just how far out the box MS is willing to go, to bring us new styles of gaming. Out of the three, X Box 360 straddles the fence in terms of hardware. While it may not be as powerful as the PS3, it is far from underpowered, giving developers plenty of flexibility, and options in order to bring you the best possible gaming experience. Like the last-gen showed, gamers want online multiplayer for their home console, and XBL is the biggest, and best reason to own a 360.

PS3… 

The PS3 is the Swiss Army Knife of game consoles. Blu-Ray drive, wi-fi connectivity, and the HDMI port, keep options wide open for different configurations. Sony’s console (on paper) has the most horsepower, and best chance to usher in unheard of gaming experiences and innovations. This go around Sony made sure to "future proof" their console, making the sure the PS3 sticks around for many years to come. For those interested in Blu-Ray movies, this makes a nice viable option as a BR player, and game console, which should interest the technical savvy consumer. The user interface is very neat and clean, making navigation a breeze, when searching for movies, pictures, and other media. Another nice feature is the 60 gig hard drive included with the console, eliminating the though (and worry) of running out of space when downloading things from Sony’s Store.

Wii…

Nintendo has finally struck gold. They created a home console with a unique gaming experience that’s easily accessible to gamers of all ages and skill level. What’s even more astounding is how the Wii has converted non gamers into full-fledged gamers; a feat MS and Sony simply can’t achieve. The world has spoken and apparently motion sensing controls are in leaving next gen graphics as a second priority. Nintendo also threw in nice quirky applications to enhance your Wii experience. At a glance, the whole Mii avatar setup seemed like a gimmick, but it’s caught on like wild fire and even I enjoy coming up with new (and often times bizarre) Mii’s to send to my friends, giving them goofy names, and appearances. The web browsing software has a clean interface, giving you a full fledged web browser on your TV, and you can even have access to flash games on wiiarcade.com (you owe it to yourself as a Wii owner to check it out.). Speaking of games, the virtual console is the number two draw to owning one of these beauties. The VC possesses endless potential, giving us a large back catalog of games, ranging from 8-bit to 16-bit. Now although the competition does offer retro downloadable games, nothing says nostalgia quite like Sega and Nintendo. 
 
What Depresses… 

X Box 360...

MS and their certification process for X Box Live Arcade (XBLA) is a big strike against their service. Simple ports of Coin-Op games take months to surface over XBLA, leaving gamers waiting while other services churn out similar games at a rapid pace. MS claims it’s quality assurance, well I believe I speak for many gamers when I say there are a few games on Live that slipped through (Root Beer Tapper and Frogger anyone?) Another blow is also having MS release the X Box 360 elite offering better features, a larger hard drive, and a sleek black design. That’s all fine and dandy, but what about the people who purchased a console on day one, or the ones who did a month before the Elites release for that matter. Maybe MS should have given some kind of voucher for those interested in upgrading to the Elite, instead of making most people sale or trade in their original at a huge loss. While I’m on the subject of hardware, in Microsoft’s haste to release the 360 a year before the other guys, they managed to make less then desirable hardware. Random freezes, and *gasp* rings of death (wikipedia "red rings of death") tarnished what would have been an overall outstanding launch.

PS3…

Sony, are you listening? Consumers want a reason to buy your console. Giving us the same thing that can be had on the 360 DOES NOT cut it. Motor Storm and Resistance are very good games don’t get me wrong, but we need killer apps to warrant such an expensive purchase, and to be honest neither of those games fit the bill. Not to mention Sony’s exclusives list continues to hemorrhage, as developers choose to port their games for the 360, further damaging Sony’s line up. Another vexing point concerns the Blu-Ray drive. Do we really need a High Definition disk drive this early in the next gen game? Blu-Ray is supposedly the be all, end all to high definition movies and gaming, but I haven’t seen anything (I’m talking game wise the movies look amazing,) that conveys this message. While Sony insist on force feeding Blu-Ray on us the competition churns out visually mind blowing games, that don’t require high definition disk drives. Developers honestly need a few more years to truly understand and utilize the tech, it’s almost the same thing as a mechanic that tunes race cars. Say a garage brings in a 2007 Shelby GT *shudders*, and a 2005 Corvette *still shuddering*. Now while one car may have more horsepower, and speed, what difference does it make if he or she doesn’t have a full grasp on how to tap into that car’s engine? It doesn’t matter how fast a car can go (on paper), if you don’t have the knowledge to tap into it, you would come out better tuning the "slower" car and will probably yield comparable results. Now according to a few developers around the industry, the PS3 is only marginally more powerful than the 360. I just wanted to use that example about the cars, to give you a better understanding of where I was coming from, from a programming perspective. Moving along if you also consider Sony’s lack luster online service, consumers ask the same question again and again. Why should I pay $200 more for a system, when I can get the same games and a superior online service for less? That question is best left answered by Sony, but what can Sony do to help answer this question? How about a price drop? It’s badly needed and would definitely get the consumers attention, and potentially boost sales. Another final piece of advice Sony: drop the tired cocky attitude and stick to gaming basics please. For years, Sony has been atop the industry, criticizing competition and constantly making arrogant statements. A more recent statement was said, that the next generation of gaming doesn’t start until Sony says so. Well from the looks of things, MS and Nintendo have effectively brought us into the next generation, while leaving you (so far) in the dust. Tune up the online service (which they are as I speak,) and bring out true killer apps that gamers can only find on your console, and maybe then you will start to catch up. 

Wii… 

Well what can I say about Nintendo? You’re always known, for doing things the way YOU want to. No matter what the rest of the industry is doing, you stick to your guns and I like that. Now, that I got that out of the way, why Nintendo WHY do you insist on using friend codes? Really Nintendo, friend codes are tedious, monotonous chores, which we have to endure FOR EVERY GAME THAT HAS ONLINE. Make the list unified at least, and for the next console you decide to release please (and I speak for a lot of gamers,) please get rid of the friend codes. Now while I’m on the subject of online functionality, where is the online service? Despite what you think Nintendo (A big wig for Nintendo once stated that consumers didn’t want online play) we want online multiplayer. The other two had this available from jump, and you mean to tell me it’s almost full year and you still haven’t produced anything? That’s not acceptable, in my opinion and Nintendo will began to quickly lose steam, if they continue to nonchalantly dismiss the online portion of their gaming strategy. To my understanding, Nintendo is releasing at least 4 games this year that are online capable, but…..um….I don’t play Pokemon and just because I own a Nintendo system does not mean I want to play any and every Mario, Zelda, and DK game they can think of. Now two online capable games I’m really looking forward to are Smash Brothers Brawl and Mario Kart, (wo games that will greatly bolster their online portfolio) but they need more then just two games to pull this off. Nintendo prides itself on catering, to a kindler gentler audience, but Nintendo this is a whole new ball game. The Gamecube flopped for this reason, and I honestly don’t want to see history repeating itself for Nintendo. Keep the ball rolling Nintendo, a lot of gamers would like to see you regain the gaming throne, and so far you are off to a good start.

But Which One Should You Get…

Whether you’re debating on owning one of the three, or all three it really depends on what kind of gaming experience you are looking for. Those who want to get into the simple mechanics of video games, nothing fancy and high tech, than the Wii hands down is for you.  If you’re looking for a more engrossing experience, complete with unrivaled online features, the 360 will suite you quite well. As a matter of fact, I would recommend buying a Wii and a 360, that way owning both covers any and every gaming taste (from a console at least) you could possibly have. What about the PS3? To be realistic, it’s struggling to differentiate itself from the 360, and right now there is no real need to own one. Now, in a year or so I will definitely be singing a different tune but until then, my money will be spent on other gaming investments, until Sony shows me something huge. Bottom line, unless you’re greedy, or a lottery winner, at this point you don’t need to own all three. Your wallet will thank you in the long run. Also, for those of you interested, feel free to mention any concerns with this article on the forums, I will be more than happy to respond.